NBA Announces Spring 2022 Mission & Ministry Grants

The National Benevolent Association is proud to announce its Spring 2022 Mission & Ministry Grant awardees. NBA’s Mission & Ministry Grants program awarded a total of $203,000 to 28 Disciples projects and ministries that work with older adults, children, and youth. 2022 marks the first year that NBA will offer applications for Mission & Ministry Grants twice a year, beginning with this Spring cycle and the upcoming Fall cycle. NBA is thankful for our Board of Trustees who approved expanding the number of application periods and funding for the grants program during their June 2021 meeting.

Launched in 2017, the Mission & Ministry Grants program has made purpose-restricted funds available for Disciples congregations and health and social service ministries. This year, the NBA Grants Committee met virtually to evaluate and accept applications; grant funds are now in the hands of the selected organizations.

As part of NBA’s commitment to equity and inclusion, the grants team made intentional plans to ensure projects from communities of color were strongly represented in the final list of grantees.

“NBA takes its role of granting seriously, especially when it comes to making sure we’re funding communities that have been historically underrepresented from granting processes,” Grants Coordinator Kara Whitehouse says. “It was important for us to be in communication with leaders and members of these Disciples communities to understand the best way to reach them when soliciting grant applications. We know historically communities of color are not granted funds at the rate white communities are. The NBA grants team wanted to ensure we were actively considering ways to address these known inequalities in the granting industry.”

In early 2022, the grants committee met with the leaders of National Convocation, Obra Hispana, and North American Pacific and Asian Disciples to brainstorm ways they could reach out to potential grantees in Black, Hispanic, and Asian communities in purposeful ways.

“It’s such a privilege to learn about the creative and compassionate ministry that is being done throughout the country through NBA’s Mission & Ministry Grants. As I read through the applications, my reservoir of hope was filled seeing how people and communities were identifying and responding to needs in their midst,” says NBA Trustee Rev. Tom Harshman. “So many of the projects reminded me of how proximity allows for focused attention to detail. For example, one program provides food assistance to neighbors in need. At holiday times, that food assistance is of an amount that makes it possible for the recipient to share their bounty with family and friends. Meaning, food for four rather than food for one. I appreciate the NBA’s particular focus on supporting the growth of community capacity, and this grant program allows for that at a neighborhood scale.”

Learn more about this cohort of grantees and their projects in the chart below. Interested in applying for a Mission & Ministry grant? Applications for fall grants will go live August 9, 2022. Learn more and apply at NBAcares.org/grants.